June 22, 2012

Page 1

DIGNITY:

OPPORTUNITY: 1 million young adults

Church aid workers help suffering Filipinos

could benefit under DREAM Act-like orders

PAGES 16-17

COMMUNITY: Celebrating Father David Pettingill’s 50th

PAGE 15 PAGE 30

CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

www.catholic-sf.org

SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES

JUNE 22, 2012

$1.00 | VOL. 40 NO. 20

(PHOTO BY LIANA ALVAREZ/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)

Archbishop greets cemetery visitors Archbishop George Niederauer greets visitors at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, June 2 during 125th anniversary events for the archdiocese’s principal Catholic cemetery. Those attending included descendants of Timothy Buckley, the first person to be buried at Holy Cross. See story on Page 7.

Seminarian for all seasons brings visibility to vocations LIDIA WASOWICZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

This is the third in an ongoing series periodically reporting on seminarian Tony Vallecillo’s journey through his pastoral year at St. Raphael Parish in San Rafael toward his ordination as a priest in 2014. On a recent Sunday, Tony Vallecillo led prayers, celebrated birthdays, directed skits, devised a test-yourBible-knowledge contest in his third grade religion class, met with parents, checked with staff, greeted parishioners, preached in Spanish and prepared a presentation for the homebound – all before lunch.

PASTORAL YEAR A seminarian’s immersion in parish life “You really need to be a chameleon,” he has learned since arriving Aug. 31, 2011, at St. Raphael for a pastoral year aimed at testing his aptitude and

affinity for diocesan priesthood. “I just try to do my best and hope it’s effective.” His efforts have earned him a reputation as a seminarian for all seasons among all he serves: the young and old, energetic and infirm, native born and immigrant. “He got the call from our Lord late in life, but he’s making up for lost time!” said longtime parish cook and Hispanic liaison Mercedes Tapia, who has been helping the 50-year-old Vallecillo brush up on his Spanish. “The whole church will miss him when he leaves.” SEE VOCATIONS, PAGE 5

INDEX World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Graduates. . . . . . . . . . . 15 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . 31 NEXT ISSUE JULY 13


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